The Da Vinci Code sequel, Angels & Demons, today announced a shooting date.
Yes, in February 2008, Ron Howard will shout ‘action!’ and Tom Hanks will wade through a ton of listless Akiva Goldsman-penned dialogue as he reprises his role as symbologist sleuth, Professor Robert Langdon.
This time, Langdon gets embroiled in a mystery that involves a secret society and which ultimately threatens the future of the Catholic Church. This, of course, is in stark contrast to The Da Vinci Code in which Langdon was embroiled in a mystery that involved a secret society and which ultimately threatened the future of the Catholic Church.
Anyway, despite being quite dull, The Da Vinci Code grossed $758 million worldwide in 2006, thanks to the irresistible package of Hanks and that brand name – after all, Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code novel is a huge huge huge bestseller.
So a sequel was inevitable – and with Brown still working on The Solomon Key, his official follow-up to Da Vinci, Angels & Demons – which is actually a prequel to Da Vinci – was promoted to sequel status.
You may have detected some cynicism on our part towards Angels & Demons, but we’re actually quietly hopeful about the project. It’s a better novel, for one, and isn’t weighed down with the spectre of controversy that made Howard tread so carefully around Da Vinci.
Currently, Goldman is working non-stop to finish the script before the planned writers’ strike kicks in on November 1. At the moment, Hanks is the only actor cast, but expect that to change very quickly, with that Feb start date (and the December 2008 release date) looming large.